


Supernova

by CrystalMoonlightI



Series: Huniepop: Problems Series - Celestial [2]
Category: HuniePop (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alien Abduction, Alien Biology, Alien Cultural Differences, Alien Culture, Alien Language, Alien Romance, Alien Sex, Alien Technology, Bounty Hunters, F/M, Friendship/Love, Genetic Engineering, Genetically Engineered Beings, Huniepop, Kissing, Martial Arts, Mutual Masturbation, Romance, Science Fiction, Sexual Content, strong female lead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-03 21:00:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10975239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalMoonlightI/pseuds/CrystalMoonlightI
Summary: It's been two months since Celeste arrived on Earth, and something is very wrong in Glenberry. One by one, the most beautiful ladies in town are vanishing without a trace. At first, her human companion Mike is afraid to help investigate these incidents. That is, until he finds Audrey Belrose on the list of missing people.(Sequel to Alien Problems. CONTAINS STRONG M RATED CONTENT!)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT – This story is a sequel to the events of Alien Problems. I'd strongly recommend reading that, or at least a little of my Problems series of fanfiction stories to understand the background and character relations.
> 
> Still with me? Awesome! Let's us begin! Are you a fan of Celeste or Audrey? This might be the one for you! We're going to join our beautiful blue bounty hunter on what might be her most important mission yet.

There was no denying that life held a very different tone nowadays. A little over a month had passed since that fateful night. While most people put on a brave face, peered with unease out of the corner of their eye late at night, and tried to be a lot more careful – there were those who knew the truth. Glenberry felt more hostile – far more on edge than before. The reason for it was one that most people wouldn't have the strength to believe.

" _This marks the fourth week since local student Audrey Belrose was reported missing by her friends on the U.O.G campus. Audrey is known around town for being a fun loving and strong-willed woman with an interest in fashion. Anybody with information in regards to her whereabouts is encouraged to contact the G.P.D with further information. This has been Christie Carmine reporting for Glenberry News. Stay safe out there, everyone."_

This wasn't good. Exhausted and fighting with all the strength he had to suppress the dull ache of fear in the pit of his soul, a young man, eyes of green and powerful peroxide hair, laid back against the comfort of a leather couch, listening to the pattering of feet across the lounge hardwood.

"Aliens," he sighed, fixated upon the finer detail of the ceiling paintwork in a desperate attempt to numb his thoughts. "These disappearances can't be related else. How many people is that in the past month? I'm losing track there's been so many. Damn… I've been living here a little over eighteen months now… singing in the clubs – and I've never seen people this uneasy."

"I believe that is the twenty-seventh across the area. However, it seems that you are particularly upset about this instance, Mike."

The color of blue sauntered into sight, curvaceous and beautiful, long uncut white hair pooling down a pair of delicate, feminine shoulders. There she stood, tall and radiant, a visitor from another planet with a fierce warrior pride – her inner determination only calmed by her gentle, almost childlike curiosity toward the human world.

"You're calling it wrong Celeste."

Mike Andrew Winters shook his head in stern defence – determined to keep the truth of his innermost feelings hidden from his otherworldly roommate. Popping the top buttons of his smooth blue shirt, he gazed around her shapely figure and toward the television screen.

"I'm serious," he continued, watching the rest of the local news play out in a far less serious tone. "You've been here for weeks now…. You should know how I feel about this whole thing. These men and women vanishing is terrible… There's no one disappearance any worse than the others."

"That is not what I am referring to, human."

Celeste Luvendass – she'd certainly made herself at home in the passing weeks. A gorgeous alien she may have been, but she also had this painful naivety when it came to the inner workings of Earth life. On the one front, she could pilot a spaceship that would make even the smartest people on this planet scratch their heads. Yet at the same time, she struggled to operate a manual shower.

Obscuring his viewership of the box even more, the gorgeous alien girl puffed out her chest, staring inquisitively with her bright orange eyes, into the core of his soul. "I am not in disagreement with you in regards to the nature of these incidents."

She closed their gap, sitting at his side with one leg folded oh so coolly over the other. Flicking back a strand of snowy hair, she leaned in, her fingers wrapping around the musician's shoulders.

Damn, just the sight of her – the way she held this aloof smile whenever she pondered something, and the way her wondrous body squeezed ever so tightly into those stellar shorts with an open jacket. It was intoxicating just being near her like this.

Giving a quiet breath to calm his racing thoughts, Mikey tried his best to hold fast against the intensity of her eyes. "Then what are you getting at exactly? That look you've got there…. I've seen it enough before to know you're trying to get at something."

"What I am implying is that," Celeste paused, reaching into the dainty left-side pocket of her shorts, "I believe you have some kind of connection to the girl we saw upon the television screen. Audrey, was it?"

Dammit, she was too good – painfully close to the mark. There was no way Mike was going to let her have her way in this little exchange. Shaking his head, he tried to silence her. "No…. I'm just concerned about this whole situation. Ever since your ship sank to the bottom of the bay this shit's been getting worse."

Unfolding her long, sensual legs, Celeste stretched outward, placing the edge of her heel against the glass coffee table. Toes pointed outward, she got a solid grip of a long metallic bracelet of sorts. Flipping it up into the air with incredible reflex, she reached up and caught it between open palms.

Mike whistled, impressed to say the least. "Still messes with me how fast you can be."

Her response times were incredible. Was it second nature for the people of Tendricide to have such focus? More so, wasn't that device on the coffee table her portable wrist computer? Why'd she leave it there?

He watched as she opened the metal claps with a delicate flick of the fingers, slotting it around her lower arm and wrist with a high pitched mechanical beep. A holographic screen buzzed to life with a mishmash of foreign symbols – a computerized voice chattering away.

With a press of one of the holograms, rounded and strangely squid-like in its shape, Celeste smirked victoriously, greeting Mike with an optimistic glow of sorts.

" _Vay ten rett say yo long tay."_

Something about the musical flow of her alien tongue set his heartbeat ablaze. The way in which her every syllable was so smooth and well defined, almost like a song echoing across a wide springtime lake. Sure it was impossible to understand, but Mike couldn't help but feel happy all the same.

"You're speaking in Tendricide again."

Celeste corrected herself with a hand upon the mouth – silently voicing her own surprise. Slinking a hand upward to the side of her head, she tapped against her temple with an outstretched fingertip.

"Forgive me," she bowed with a gentle, whimsical chuckle. "I have been having problems with my neural translator ever since my ship was destroyed. The signal originated from the on-board computer, you see."

_'Her neural what? Wait. Did that mean she-'_

Curious to say the least, Mike shot a questioning look her way. "Does that mean you've not been speaking English this whole time? I could've sworn you've been doing the 'earth speak' thing since you got here."

"I regret to inform you that the answer is no," Miss Luvendass clarified with a solemn nod of the head. Her cheeks held this slight pink hue. Was she embarrassed?

"I have an experimental translation device fitted inside my head."

Her explanation came in tow with many a fluid hand gesture and artsy reference – fading between verbal discussion to a most unusual type of improvised signing. Mikey had to give credit where credit was due. She always made her explanations of the intergalactic interesting to follow.

"Since very few people visit this corner of the galaxy, commonplace translation units such as earpieces are highly likely to fail. Therefore, before I came to Earth I had this device implanted. It translates five different Earthling languages into Tendicidian in real time."

"Wait, so-"

This sure was a little more confusing than the average conversation. It took a moment to piece the whole thing together. Hand rested upon his chin in thought, Winters continued. "I'm not… talking to you in English? You're hearing me in your home planet's language?"

Celeste nodded.

"Likewise," she slinked her fingers together into a tight knot, "I am speaking to you in Tendricidian and the micro unit within my head is feeding a wireless signal to your cerebral cortex in Terran. The reason you are sometimes hearing me in my native tongue is because the signal is failing."

"In that case…."

An idea sparked to life. Content to try something and see if it worked, Mikey reached out to Celeste and took one of her dainty blue hands into his own. "Switch off the translator. Let's try following each other's voices and see what happens. Besides… there's something I want to tell you."

Her eyes shone with brightened luminesce – she looked so sweet and innocent like that. "A splendid idea, Terran! Let us try to converse unaided! I shall look forward to whatever it is you wish to say."

Wilting like a flower, Celeste smirked nervously. "There is also something I must share with you too, but not like this. I would feel much more content to share this admission in my own words."

Giving a lithe double tap behind her ear, she continued onward, giving a slow, nervous smile. Cautious at first, the alien girl squeezed Mike's hand just that little bit tighter, tilting her head to the side like a playful puppy.

" _Ket lo ret san kai? Var ren to ois shi? Saversa can hei?"_

Okay – it was time to concentrate. No doubt, the translator was offline now. Where to begin? Mikey gave himself a second to think, clearing his thoughts of baggage.

"Alright…"

He released his hand from Celeste's grasp, bringing them both upward to rest upon her shoulders. Deep, thoughtful and compassionate, he exhaled his feelings. "This last month…. It's been rough for you. I can see that… the way you toss and turn on the couch when you're sleeping… I'm just grateful that you're in one piece after all this shit with Crull went down…"

There came a pause from the extra-terrestrial beauty. Her eyes widened, gentle as a morning breeze. She began with more hand signals, at least until she gave up and reverted to the simplicity of body language.

Celeste wriggled closer, turning Mike's hold into an embrace as her digits slid around his waist. _"Rentei sett vor kii los ken to sii… seya kett teyat?"_

Her expression, wide and transparent in its compassionate intent, hardened just the slightest bit as she looked to focus on something. It seemed as though she was thinking, pondering with all of her might to try to figure something out.

Head of angelic snow-angel hair rested upon his shoulder, she slinked ever closer, the moistness of lips brushing against his ear.

_"Shen vey korr getsi an Terra…. Lotsi can tensat etta."_

There was a way to her speech – the fluidity and tone bore such an intense strength. Mikey didn't need a direct understanding of any individual word to know that whatever his otherworldly companion was saying, she was saying it from the heart.

What else was there to do but lay his innermost on the line as well? Not backing away for a second, touched by the aura of Celeste's sincerity – he pressed forward. If they were going to be stuck together like this for the near future then there was no sense in holding back.

Slinking his hands downward to coil around Celeste's sides, the green-eyed rogue continued.

"I can't get over how all of this went down. I lay awake so much thinking about how I'd be dead if it weren't for you. Celeste… I owe you so much more than a place to stay…. I just wish there was something I could do… that we could do to set all of this right."

She held him tight and didn't let go, caressing his cheek with one of her regal horns. Edging away, just the slightest fraction, those orange eyes glimmered under the sunset's heart-warming glow.

" _Serret vasay. Kor'ella los verran serret vasay."_

With a small, alluring smile, Celeste slid one of her handsdown to rest atop Mike's. With twiddling fingers, she joined their digits together and slowly but surely, inch by inch, guided his palm further down her back – until it rested upon the beautifully rounded expanse of her behind. Once there – a slow, teasing chuckle of consent was all she gave.

In an instant, the tone had changed. Awash with feeling and with a thumping heart, Mike thought hard for a moment about this whole thing. Was this okay?

"Are you sure? I mean…. Yeah we've gotten pretty close since you moved in but-"

Wanting to be on the safe side, especially with the language barrier very much in place now, he moved to clarify. "You're gorgeous, Celeste…. Wouldn't surprise me if you've figured out how drawn to you I am but- You're sure?"

A slow, rhythmic nod up and down from the all too wonderful alien girl. She applied a little pressure upon his hand, bringing his fingers to squeeze just a fraction tighter around her ample derriere.

" _Tay yaan ves sevarreta an seii…."_

Mike felt his back go down against the couch as Celeste climbed atop – her cheeks alight with a faint pinkish hue. Pinning him with wicked intent, palms pressed against his chest, she winked.

Each second brought with it a harder thumping within the chest. Overtaken by the sight of truest beauty, the blond man felt the heat within his body rising, nervousness and excitement swirling together in perfect unison within his core.

_'Being with an alien? This'll be something new.'_

An explosion of colors, fiery reds, cool blues and heartfelt yellows, fused as one within the canvas of his heart, splashing outward in an electrifying orange. Never before had a pair of eyes mesmerized him so intensely as those belonging to Miss Luvendass.

Disarmed and all too happy about it – Winters surrendered, accepting the union of his lips with those of the alien woman as she sprawled, her chest pressing against him.

Echoes of kisses sang throughout the apartment like a chorus – lulling Mikey even further into his willing submission - stars sparkled in his mind.

Easing away, contented, Celeste lapped up the string of saliva joining them, stretching out her back with a raspy breath.

" _Seyaa verr too shee…"_

In an elegant snap of her fingers, a beam of energy wisped its way from Celeste's wrist communicator, wrapping its way around their bodies in a swath of elegant, flowing ribbons. They shone brightly, vanishing with another click.

The musician stared – eyes widened with passion as the light took their clothes with it. A teleportation ray of some kind, maybe. Bare and beneath a temptress from beyond this world, he felt a pulse of powerful desire rush through his veins. He wouldn't just roll over and let this blue vixen have her way – not without making things a little more exciting first.

The playboy was loose – unrestrained and overwhelmed by a sight of such awe-inspiring beauty. Reaching forth, taking in the tactile sensation of her smooth skin against his fingertips, Mikey caressed her chest, working in perfect sync with his free hand to give her behind a sharp squeeze.

" _Ahh… Seyan selos tey..."_

An exquisite gasp of breath escaped from Celeste's mouth as she came in again, smacking her lips against his own in powerful conquest. Downward one of her hands sank, across his chest and even further, until it rested upon the region of his masculine pride.

Dizzied by the sheer surprise – the movement so sudden, Winters sucked in air, head thrown back in a growl of approval as Miss Luvendass touched and teased. She wasn't letting him escape, either. As soon as he broke away to catch his breath she stole his lips away, not content until he moaned into her with reckless abandon.

Her hands continued in their movements, intricate and tender as she tempted, tantalized and massaged, the tips of her long, lithe fingers sliding upward to stroke the tip of his mighty weapon. Giggling, she continued, her every action in seemingly perfect timing. Had she been involved with another human before? Maybe come to Earth prior to this?

Hazy under the weight of it all, Mike brought his hand down, tracing ever so softly against her blooming orchid, "Not letting you outlast me, minx…."

Entering, his digits were greeted with a slickness, a warm throbbing overtaking his sense of touch. In response to his actions, Celeste squeezed tight, the petals of her flower wrapping around him - preventing escape.

' _Ohhhh shit…. Talk about muscle control…. Looks like the only way's forward….'_

Intent on coming out on top in this passionate game, the blond went in deeper, welcomed by a powerful, almost musical howl from Celeste as her face turned upward with bliss, eyes of orange shining so brightly that they damn near overtook the room.

" _Sen yo sevarra an set lo kai…. L- Lo k-kai!"_

There were no words to describe the sensation – the way she went about working her magic was so different to that of human girls. Maybe it was just that, the fact of her otherworldly origins. Whatever it was, it pushed him closer and closer to the brink with every passing second. An aching, a burning, low and fierce had overtaken everything. Yet he wouldn't back down. Even if it melted his brain, the singer wouldn't be the one to reach his peak first.

With that thought firmly in mind, he pulled Celeste close with his other arm, still very much wrapped around her waist. Mere inches away, they sighed and gasped into one another, the young man giving her a gaze of longing to convey his message.

"Together…."

Stealing Celeste's lips in a damp, messy kiss, he focused with overwhelming heat. "Let's get there together, yeah?"

Somehow, even in the blurred intensity of it all, he was sure she understood the meaning of his message too, giving a short nod, droplets of sweat sliding down her forehead and pattering with icy coolness against his chest.

" _Loshi… Loshi..."_

* * *

Heaving in the aftermath, Mike fought with all he could to escape from the confines of Celeste's glistening chest as she flopped against him, rasping with just as much exhaustion. Suffocated by a pair of perfectly formed womanly breasts was the last way he'd expected to go, but if Celeste didn't move it'd become a reality pretty fast.

Muffled under the weight of her feminine assets, he crawled upward, slouched halfway over the arm of the couch, desperate gaps ripping free. "Damn," he exhaled stiffly, "Foreplay ain't ever felt like that before."

However, there was no response, Celeste was too busy in post-climactic indulgence, licking his essence free of her hands in what appeared to be some seriously gluttonous enjoyment. It was crazy watching her, the sight of that long, powerful tongue lapping him up. It flicked nearly enough switches to get him fired up all over again.

Swallowing hard, gleeful in every moment as his special treat slid down her throat, Celeste tapped against her forehead with her offhand, smiling with contentedness.

"Human." She chuckled – somehow innocent and harmless in light of her previous actions. "I find the taste of your reproductive fluid to be somewhat… tantalizing in a way that words cannot convey."

Mike couldn't help but give a devilishly smooth smile at her words of praise. "Thanks. I gotta say… You're pretty different from human girls…. Sweet and sugary…. Almost too good."

Yet he had to know why – had to get to the bottom of her reason for coming onto him like that. It was something he couldn't get out of his mind.

"Seriously though," Winters began, pulling a tissue box from the coffee table and leaning in to wipe away what was left from the corner of Celeste's mouth. It didn't suit her, a creature so beautiful looking so risqué. "I'm not gonna to ask what you were saying… not if it's personal… but why'd jump me like that?"

"Jump?" Celeste seemed very confused by his words. "I do not recall there being any jumping in our intimate rendezvous. There were many instances of touching and the exchange of bodily fluids… but I never once jum-"

"Celeste," Mike rolled his eyes. She'd been baffled by his way of speech, obviously. "What I meant is…. Why'd you want to be sexual with me? Is there something you wanna say?"

Folding her legs and resettling upon the couch, the intergalactic vixen stalled. Her expression was so serious, brows furrowed in deep thought. After what seemed like an eternity she finally came back to reality.

"Well," she started, looking to her comrade of sorts, "It has been several Earth cycles since everything transpired aboard my ship. You have been my only source of companionship and support for what seems so long a time… and for that I wished to show you both my affection and gratitude."

Warmth enveloped Mike's cheeks – her admission far more than he was hoping for. "Seems like we both feel the same way then. But still..."

Intent on addressing the nagging feeling he'd had for so long now, he pressed ahead. "We both know why people are going missing like this…. Part of me really wants to do something about it… but the last time-"

Celeste's finger upon his lips gave his thoughts much-needed pause."I do not think will be conducive to our wellbeing if we continue to allow these incidents to go unchecked. You know as well as I that Crull is responsible for this…. I am not a believer in simple coincidence."

Greyed pictures rushed through Mike's mind – the sight of a six-armed, jagged toothed alien destroyer with a passion for violence. The way he'd stepped foot on Celeste's ship and effortlessly torn her defences apart was still too horrifying.

"I don't know if I can face him again... He almost killed me once... you too..."

It was an admission with weight. "Part of me would rather go back to my life before this and try pretending it didn't happen… but I don't know…. Momo and Mark are out there somewhere…"

Miss Luvendass placed a hand upon his cheek.

"The encounter with Crull has not been easy for either of us, human. We have both suffered. When my translator was switched off in the moments prior… that was one such confession on my part. I have seldom lost a battle so decisively before… and I cannot remain here on Earth knowing he continues to roam free."

Talk about trauma and shame. They'd both been scarred and broken. Such a realization caused Mike to feel at least a flicker of strength, if only for a moment. "If you want to do something about Crull… just give me some time to think about it. Soon as I'm back from work tomorrow I'll have an answer, Celeste."

The Tendracidian girl cracked a smile – it helped to lighten his heavy heart. "You intend to partake in employment, tomorrow? I had wondered how you were sustaining this abode. After all… I have hardly seen you leave the confines of this building in many Terran weeks."

It would be easier to explain. "Like I told you before... I'm a musician, Celeste... and if it puts your mind at ease, I have plenty of money to fall back on. My mom was a violinist… she left a lot of money behind for me when she died… but it doesn't sit right with me burning through it like this while I mope around."

"Mu-sician? Vio-lin-ist?"

"How curious. I had stories of Earthlings expressing themselves through the art of song and dance. We have a similar approximation on my home planet."

With that, Celeste nodded to herself, assured of something. "I wish to frequent your place of work and watch you perform. It would be a source of great enjoyment for me, I am sure."

There was no way that would work out. Everybody around town was already on edge. Add an extra-terrestrial woman with horns to the mix and Glenberry would be crawling with guys wearing suits and sunglasses in no time!

"Sorry but that ain't gonna happen. I'm singing solo in a nightclub full of people. If even one of them sees you, as drunk as they usually are… I don't even wanna think about might go down."

She pouted, flipping back her long white locks with sass. "While I understand your logic I am inclined to voice my displeasure. I wish to see you sing..."

"I'm doing this for your own safety, Celeste. The last thing this town needs is any more attention."

"Very well," with a disheartened sigh, the intergalactic visitor jumped up from the couch, making her way in the direction of the bathroom. "I intend to declare war on your shower and clean myself. Such a primitive device... I cannot believe it has no voice recognition function."

"Just turn the handle," Mike sighed, "The fridge is just as easy… Stop clapping your hands at it and pull open the door…."

"Terra," she groaned, meterializing Mike's clothes with a snap of the fingers before leaving the lounge. "It is a bastion of beautiful art and culture… and yet you humans seem incapable if installing simple automation processes into your household routines."

Slipping on his boxers and putting his arms through the holes in his shirt, Winters took a second to exhale the stress, sprawling across the couch with a yawn. "Using your hands to open a door isn't that hard…."

Water trickled form inside the bathroom, the door slamming shut against the force of a blue foot. Alone at last while his roommate cleaned herself off, he turned his attention back toward the television screen.

Not even the music channel however, was enough to pull his thoughts away from the matters at hand.

"…She's right… we can't keep sitting in here doing nothing while the rest of town goes to Hell. I need to give it some serious thought. I can't stop thinking about Audrey... I can't get over the fact she's missing..."

His thoughts flashed back to the all too loud and bitchy young lady - her bright red hair whipping in the wind as they walked hand in hand. The thought of her missing, or worse, hurt, brought a silent tear rolling down his cheek.

Fighting hard, he crushed his feelings downward, biting against the emotions that so badly wanted freedom.

"Please be safe... If anything's happened to you- For fuck sakes... Audrey..."

**To be continued….**


	2. Containment Failure

Where there was a will there was a way. There was no such thing as defeat so long as one remained defiant against all odds. It was not the place of a savior to surrender when he held the fate of the world on his shoulders. A noble son had once held such words close like religion. Idealistic patter to provide vigour against a harsh world, true, but what if, for once, father dearest, in all of his detestable grandiosity, was right?

Glenberry was in trouble. There was no doubt about that. If something wasn't done about these disgusting alien bastards, countless more honest people would fall victim to their deceptions, becoming yet more pawns in their sinister otherworldly games. Whatever they were here for, whatever they intended to do with the good denizens of the human race... they couldn't be allowed to succeed.

This coastal city... no, this world, needed somebody to fight for it. Celeste, Crull, and the faceless being Drell... _all needed to die._

It was the place of a prodigy to deliver such judgement. Endless scores of voices pulsed through the mind, invaded the body. They belonged to so many different individuals, but each one of them was distant now, almost as as though they belonged in different life entirely.

_Awaken... we need you._

In a mismatched thump not all that different to a heartbeat, that which was dead returned to life.

_"You shall be the flame which leads this family into the future. Remember that, son, for some day the legacy of our grandfather and his father before him will rest squarely on your shoulders."_

The rhetoric of a man uncaring of anything but his own tiny, greed-fuelled empire. He'd poured his soul into the disgusting corporate machine, and wanted nothing more than to shovel more capital down his throat. Ironic how at this very instant, he was the first person who came to mind.

_"Come on! You're like a brother to me! We're not in the sixties anymore. Do you really think the fact you come from a rich family bothers me? I stick by you because you're loyal. True, I'll admit I ain't great with women... but I'll stand by my friends until the end. You're one of them. I'll always have your back."_

The promise of a friend most true. To this day Mike Andrew Winters had never failed in his oath. True, they were two very different people who started in two very different places, but that hadn't stopped them from becoming the strongest of comrades in arms. He was somebody worth protecting no matter the danger.

_"Yeaaaaah... I know how you feel about me! You're such a sweetie! I just... need more time to get over another guy I like. Give me that and I promise baby, we'll go out for drinks reeeeal soon. I'll even introduce you to daddy! I bet he'll love you!"_

Candace Crush. Not the most intellectual of girls, and one with far too many detrimental hobbies, but with her soft heart and her ditzy personality, she'd most assuredly found a large place in his heart. Another person worth risking it all to look after.  
 _  
"I'm so glad I found you, Master. You make Momo so happy!"_

Last but not least, the forbidden love of his life. A girl literally out of this world, Momo had arrived one day, wandered into his path on a morning walk through Dawnwood Park. She'd since become a beacon of hope, and a bringer of fate. She was the one he'd done all of this for. An innocent life in need of saving.

At long last, the being inside his blood fell silent. In an instant most liberating, free of conflict and pain for the first time in so very long, Markus Johnathan Kane's eyes opened wide. Impaled with an endless slew of wires, breathing equipment clamped over his mouth, he found himself suspendered in warm green liquid, trapped in some kind of cylinder.

Gone were his clothes. No longer were his lungs flattened and broken, the sickening taste of coppery blood burning his tongue. Wherever he was, whatever had happened, Celeste's ship was nowhere in sight, and neither were Mike or that alien fiend, Luvendass.

The first matter to which Mark needed to attend? He to be free from this holding cell of sorts. His head panned downward, eyes snapping toward one of his fists, squeezed tight and vascular. Its veins throbbed an unnatural pinkish hue, adrenaline like no other cascading across his every inch.

This feeling, of purging fire most sublime... it felt homely at this juncture. _Good._ At least his captors hadn't purged the symbiont from his bloodstream. He'd need it. A single bludgeoning fist against the plastic-like compound was all it took to bring a crack to the tube. Pressure lines spread across its face, expanding outward like the veins of a roadmap, further and further until finally:

_"Warning! Internal pressure source detected inside genometric capsule six. Containment failure!"_

In a outward shower of shards, Markus flopped on his knees, the tube which had sealed him until now blowing out in a showing of impressive kinetic force. Its liquid of sickening emerald flooding out across the clean stone floor before him. Disengaged from anything but the prospect of escape, he grabbed for the wiring stuck inside of his arms, wrists and torso like fleshy arteries. This was going to hurt.

_Three... two... one._

Squeezing down hard, he ripped them free one by one, a convulsion of agony grabbing him tight. His lifeblood sprayed forth, a slew of desperate, pained shouting muffled by the mouthpiece. He had to push on... even if it killed him. He'd faced worse! He'd fought worse!

Ignoring the white grain which overtook his sight, and showing even less regard for the warning, chaotic thunder of his heartbeat, Mark tore the last of invasive machinery away. The symbiont which shared his conscious, screamed out as well, and with a _thud,_ he fell limp, unable for the moment to lift himself from the stone floor.

Red lights flared to life across the expanse of the room as the strange breathing mask came free of his mouth. Srens kicked up from nothingness. They served as a wakeup of sorts, a reminder to engage with reality and check his surroundings. This building, it looked like some kind of industrial warehouse, with dozens upon dozens of tubes identical to his own lined up in rows. Standing at last, the stab of cold against his soaking skin giving clarity, Mark took in his first unaided breath, lungs tingling as he did so. It felt so nice inhale without obstruction.

Such a thought brought dull pain to the front of his head, his last memory before awakening here returning to the forefront. Crull's guttural laugh spilt through his sanity, those crooked teeth of his turning upward into pointed, glassy smile. If anything, when Mark returned to the here and now it provided all the encouragement he needed to take those first few steps. His legs ached, each sluggish inch bringing him closer and closer to the pod opposite.

He fell against it, a trail of red having formed behind. Faint, weak, he coughed, his palms stained a dirty and inhuman reddish-green.

"What did they... do to me?"

No sooner than he asked that very question, did a shiver race across his back. The unsightly, gaping wounds across his arms and chest swelled into squishy masses, sealing themselves shut before his very eyes. Bubbling over and disolving into nothing, they healed over as though good new! The pain cooled, giving way to truest bewilderment instead.

"Get up, Mark," he told himself, again focused on his intent to escape. Whatever terrible things had happened to him in here, it could wait. If he didn't get out now, he'd no doubt be subjected to even more unspeakable procedures. Dragging himself upright, reinvigorated, Mark gathered himself.

Eyes fixated, he looked upon the unfortunate prisoner within the capsule he'd so ungracefully fallen against. A petite young lady with deep red hair and a slender body. She bobbed up and down helplessly, her legs hugged against her chest in the fragility of the fetal position. Her skin, whiter than porcelain even through the strange fluid of the capsule, was covered in cuts, marks and scars. A horrible purple bruise swelled around her eye, as well.

"A victim of abuse at the behest of these otherworldly scum, I'll wager."

The name etched upon her container? _Audrey Belrose._ It sounded familar indeed. This girl... Mark had seen her before. He was sure of it, but where? She was one of Mike's several girlfriend's, was she not? Yes! In fact, he'd seen them walking around town, bold and unashamed, arm in arm, many times before. There was only one thing for it. Just as Winters had gone out of his way to protect Momo, he'd return the favour in kind.

"Is there some way can get her out of there?"

A tiny console buzzed to life off to the side, its screen pulsing strong and white amidst the red of sirens that washed the room.

_"Please enter a valid access code. Lockdown in progress. Security breach detected."_

There was no time for that!

Furthermore, there was no telling what kind of hellish discourse would descend upon him the longer he waited here. Giving a roll of the eyes, squeezing his hand into a ball for a second time, Mark scoffied in defiance. "I've not the time for your mindless twoddle. Hmph. Crude, but this will have to do."

His fist careened through the air, connecting with the tube, smashing straight through. The green liquid spilled out in a violent gush, the glass fracturing and exploding outward much like before. Mark snarled, sent sliding back by the force, a chunk of jagged compound zipping past his head like a knife. A close call.

"Damn it all," he growled, hands trembling. "Alright Markus. Keep it together."

In and out he breathed, again on the verge of losing himself. Somehow, in a manner beyond comprehension, his outstretched senses felt everything in the room. He'd not realized it before. Perhaps it was the urgency of escape, but he most certainly took note of it now. Melodies filled his ears from inside the tubes. _Thud... thud._ Heartbeats. Too many to count. They fought with desperation, each intent on drowning the others out in a frenzied hive-mind cry for help.

_Closer and closer they came. Louder and louder._

There was another sensation closing in, too. It wasn't organic, akin more to the snapping of an electrical current. It wasn't the other humans. They were overpowering in such perfect unision, but they were scared... frantic.

Metal footsteps clomped from the left and right. Markus stood on guard, ready to assertain the situation. Whatever it was, it was close, too close for comfort.

"Cease and desist, Terran. If you refuse to cooperate we will have have no choice but to deal with you ourselves."

A pair of mechanicals. Tall, bulky in build and complete with red eye visors, flashing with blue and green dots for eyes. Their brawny torsos bore alien symbols, square with jagged outlines. Their most noticable trait, moreover? They both wielded some sort of electrical staff in two hands. Several feet long, with the hilt at its centre. Sparks crackled up the sides of these strangely elegent weapons, a mismatched, musical buzzing eminating from them as they were twirled through the air.

"Forgive me, gentleman... but I've no intention obeying your orders."

Markus raised his hands, slowly making his way to Audrey. She lay slumped on the floor, scrunched into a tiny shivering ball. He kneeled down, checking her neck, relieved beyond all else to find a weak pulse. _She was alright_.

As the robotics closed, Mark put his arms around Audrey's dainty shoulders. Unlike him, and perhaps thankfully, given the situation, she hadn't been violated with tubes, making it a simple task of picking her up. He held her close, giving the faintest of assuring smiles.

"If you can hear me, Miss Belrose, you're safe. I will escort you to safety unharmed. You have my word."

She was like a dainty doll in his arms, so delicate that he feared he'd break her if she wasn't handled with the utmost care. A far cry from the unladylike curses and insults he'd heard spewing from her mouth those few times they'd met in passing. No matter. She needed protecting above all else.

"Release the test subject," the chrome-finished enforcers spoke in monotone warning, "This is your last cha-"

"Release her?" Mark gave a dry, heartless laugh. "No."

His body felt exceedingly light, in stark contrast to his ugly awakening. He'd not noticed it before, but now, at the height of danger, it had become brutally apparent. In a single breath he took off, his legs darting with speed unfathomable across the room. The symbiont had finally re-joined him in full, no doubt. Perhaps being locked away had given the two of them enough time to meld completely, making the pair of disjointed fragments whole.

Either way, his heartbeat was the same no longer. It had a third, heavy thump to it, a sure sign, if everything he'd seen here tonight weren't enough, that his genetic makeup was very different. "Tell your masters that I will be coming for them soon enough."

Mark smashed his clenched fist through the machine in his path, quietly revelling in its all too human scream. Reaching in deeper, he yanked out its guts, electrical energy erupting across the core of its body until, in a mighty burst of white thermal light, the construct of steel fell to its knees, the lights of its visor going dark. Just to be sure, Mark ripped out its cyberized innards in a handful, tossing them away.

 _Movement from behind._ There was no need to see it. Somehow, Mark felt it, clearer than ever.

"As for you," he sidestepped his second robotic attacker with ease, its actions so sluggish they were almost slow motion. In a display beyond fleet, Markus wrestled the electrical staff from its hands, spearing its cranium clean through before it could so much as move. Oily gray muck spurted out, a jarred metallic howl shredding through the air. "Stay down."

A weighty clunk brought an end to the immediate danger, Mark giving a faint sigh to steady himself, keeping his hold upon Miss Belrose as to not drop her. "Let us depart this place, Miss. Wherever we are."

Finally the crimson lights fell flat, a burden of sorts lifted from Mark's fragile eyesight. Unobscured at last, he tracked the closest source of light. A single open skylight waited just up a rusted staircase, beside one of the roof beams. He set off, up to the second floor, going past a pair of dimmed storage pods along the way. Dead bodies, starved and scrawny, their eyes hollow, white and empty. They floated, in murky red, scrunched in horror, third limbs splitting from their backs, the rest of their limbs mutated and deformed.

More victims of Crull, no doubt.

Mark shook his head, uttering a silent prayer. What would have happened to him and Audrey if he hadn't awoken sooner? Would they have suffered the same morbid fate as these poor monsters?

"I will avenge you," A promise with god as his witness, if indeed, there was a God watching over this corrupt world any longer. "I will avenge all of you."

With Audrey held against him for safety, Mark departed, quick to make an exit. Stepping out into the night, leaving the sight of death behind, he welcomed the fresh air. It was there, tired at last from the stress of exertion, that Mark took pause. He set Audrey down beside the railings, his protective instincts on high alert.

Off in the distance, perhaps a mile or two away, give or take, the lights of Glenberry twinkled like stars.

How long had he been asleep for? What was happening to the lively coastal town at this very moment? He had to find out.

"I am not dead yet, Crull. Whatever you have planned... I'll not allow you to succeed."

**To be continued...**


	3. Propagation

Hurt like a bitch to think straight. What the fuck was going on here? Audrey sat upright and gave her surroundings the once over. A hotel room. The cheap kind. She'd spent enough time in them escaping her dad's nasty turns to know. Flaky paint that peeled. A cracked mirror in the corner. Yellowed walls stained with smoke, and a dirty television set airing a shitty shopping channel. Some dumb bitch selling jewellery and trinkets by the looks of things.

How in the fuck had she gotten here? Why did her throat feel so sore? Not only was that... she wore a bath robe! A frightened rasp of breath fell out as she sat upright. Did she get drunk last night? Crazy blitzed even? Not even the worst night around town in her life felt this bad! Audrey nursed her head with her hand, tried not to panic.

She had to keep it together. She had to keep herself ticking over!

"I remember..."

A fuzzy fragment, almost too frightful to relive. A cold winter night. A nice guy. Until he pulled her into the alley 'round back of Lusties. Her voice was muffled by claws! Fucking claws! She'd tried to get away... and that was when she'd seen his face.

Blue and scaly. Kinda human but kinda not. Spittle and drool dribbled from his sharpened knife fangs. He let out a laugh, dulled her frightful screams with a needle in the neck. It was black after that. Black and cold as all fuck. Sickly liquid had filled her lungs. She thrashed and screamed, trapped inside a watery cell. And the last thing she could pick up without her head spinning out of control... _a voice_.

" _If you can hear me, Miss Belrose, you're safe. I will escort you to safety unharmed. You have my word._ "

Well-spoken and stuck up as shit, but somehow it made her feel safe.

Audrey forced herself back, looked down at the blankets wrapping her body, cream with some tacky floral print. She pulled them down, drawn to a deep, grey scar trailing along her stomach. Just looking at it scared the hell outta her.

"What happened to me?"

The tips of her fingers hovered just above the gory marking. It didn't hurt... not that it mattered! Her perfect body... it was ruined!

Inching closer and closer, she prepared to touch against her tarnished skin.

A hoarse cough stole her attention. Distant but deep and painful. Audrey didn't think twice. Her heartbeat rose. She snapped in the direction of the sound. It was way more normal than the angry snarls of the mutant creep who'd nabbed her.

Seconds burned out. The coughs didn't stop. They weren't so much coughs anymore. More like choking!

Audrey found her feet and leaned up with shuddering legs against the wall. She tied the cord of her bathrobe and made slow, heavy steps. _Fuck_... the nasty choking wasn't easing off. Sounded like her old man after chaining eighty smokes and drinking his sweaty ass into a heap on their musty couch!

"A'ight Audrey... keep your shit in check," she whispered, met with a grungy sliding door just past the television set, beside the alcove mirror.

She reached for the faded handle, split halfway between stopping then and there, and finding whoever was making all the damn noise.

* * *

This damnable body still continued in ardent protest despite his best efforts to fight on. Markus heaved for air, fingernails scratching against the bathroom counter beside the edges of the sink. He'd not give in. His blasted physiology could rebel as much as it damn well pleased. He'd not escaped a murky warehouse laboratory to collapse to his knees in a place like this.

The man who stared him back in the reflective glass bore deep, dark rings around the bloodshot eyes of blue, alongside an unnatural glint to the iris if caught in the light. Somewhere between magenta and an alien bluish-red.

Markus shook his head in defiance, his tensed. Pain befitting that of a sharpened knife tore into his chest.

"D-damn it," he coughed hard. The dualistic beats of his heart shot hard and fast in warning.

 _Markus_ , his inner voice called out, that of the beast within his blood. _We still have much that we must do. Hold yourself together and leave this place. Chrull's trail is cold._

"I am aware. Oh G-" Pinkish red spattered the inside of the pale white sink. Mark fell to his knees in exhaustion.

In the back of his mind, a beating drum within his chaotic, heightened senses began to sound. The door to the bathroom swung open. He had not the strength to move. He merely hung his head low and honed in on the droplets of unnatural lifeblood pattering on the grubby tiled floor from his lips.

"Fuck!" The vulgar declaration of a most catty sounding lady. Feet pattered with nervous pacing closer. Warm hands touched against Markus' bare shoulders. They frantically brought him upright again. And together, with a petite madam of intense hair of a blood red hue, the prodigy fixated upon his reflection.

"You alright? Fuck's up with you?!"

Miss Belrose had awoken. And not a moment too soon. For that Markus was must grateful indeed.

"I'm not well, miss... I must admit."

"No shit! Let's get your ass sat down." Audrey helped Mark, taller as he was, and most unshaken by his naked state, from the bathroom to the lounge. One foot at a time he inched, his pace kept with that of his small-time savior, until he reached the edge of the bed.

"My thanks," Mark wheezed, his lungs loosening, regaining a hint of dignity by covering his natural form with a bedsheet.

"You talk like something out of those crappy fifties tube flicks," Audrey appeared to be lost in pondering, a hand rested upon her chin as she pulled out a rickety chair from beside the dresser. Her pasty features fell low into a most displeased expression. "Yeah... it's you. It's gotta be. Wrung out as fuck or not."

"Excuse me," Mark spoke up, disregarding the subtle twitch of offense he felt toward such a stark generalisation. Audrey frowned, however, displeased.

Hands on her hips, one leg crossed over the other, and the redhead leered.

"Were the fuck am I? And who the fuck are you? How come I could hear you in my head when I woke up?"

"My name is Markus. Markus Kane. I believe that you, much like myself and many others are a victim of the current phenomena which plagues this town. At present we are in a small apartment in Downtown Glenberry. It once belonged to a business contact of my father."

"The blue guy," Audrey shivered at such a mention, visibly frightened, still partway lost to her own thoughts. "Reminds me those boring sci-fi nerd movies Nikki always made me watch..."

"By a 'blue guy', I assume you mean an alien, miss."

"Alien?" Audrey scoffed indignantly hard, halfway between laughter and a mocking roll of the eyes. "You mean the slimy, four-eyed probing my ass and a tracker up my cooch kind. Oh please! Fuck. That. Shit. They're not real."

"Not real?" Surely Miss Belrose spoke in jest. He'd found her suspended in a tube of liquid and she refused to see what was plain as daylight? Mark restrained his irritation. "Do not fool yourself. Think hard about the moments leading up to your awakening here. Please, I implore you."

"Suuuure, whatever you s-" Audrey paused, grabbing for her temple. Doubling over she let out a sharp, piercing yelp. "Oh shit... M-my head."

"What's wrong?" Markus closed the gap. Audrey hugged her legs against her chest and whimpered.

"T-they grabbed me," she cried out. "Jabbed wires into my arms and legs... and stuffed a tube up inside my fucking-"

Audrey cried out. Sweat crawled down her forehead and she flopped in a small, fragile head upon the mattress. She scrunched her eyes shut in abstract terror, only opening them again when Markus gave her shoulder a pat of assurance.

"It was real. And It's ripping my head apart thinking about it... The glass smashed and I heard you talking to me."

Audrey looked Mark in the eye. "Who the fuck are you, really? Feels like I've seen you before, now I think about it. S'weird. You help me cuz you thought I'd blow you to say thanks? Sorry but no!"

It was for the best, most assuredly, to tell the truth, despite the crudeness Miss Belrose so readily brought into the open.

"I'm a friend of Mike Winters. I'm the manager of his band. That is likely where you've seen me before. He's talked about you several times."

Audrey flinched, shocked at the very least. She gathered all of the strength she could and sat upright.

"Mike?!" Audrey's surprise became something of a bewildered snort. "Fuck me... You helped cuz you know pretty boy? Wait... hold it!"

A snap of the fingers. Audrey looked down her nose in realization.

"You're that rich kid he hangs around with. Drives that flashy car and smokes fancy cigars all the damn time! Great... another classy asshole. Did Mike send you to get me or something He looking for me? Shit... there's a shock!"

"I am afraid not," Markus shook his head. "Does it look in my somewhat beaten state I was sent to your aid? If anything... You and I are victims alike."

Mark paused, held his tongue. His final seconds upon Celeste's ship raced to the forefront. The ticking timer upon the hydron cube. Winters standing there, fearfully beside a mortally wounded Luvendass. The way he looked Mark in the eye before a flash of light most blinding. And most dishearteningly of all, the very last thing he said.

" _I'll… be fine…. I see that look you got there Mark... I chose to help you 'till now. Don't feel guil-_ "

A heavy, miserable sigh. Mark averted his gaze. He dared not face Audrey head on.

"I'm sorry, Miss Belrose."

"What for?"

Such ice and bile from the young woman. It was almost as though she knew of the reason behind his apprehensiveness.

Mark felt the pressure of the world, a dead weight hang in his stomach.

"Mike is dead. My inability to protect the city thus far... cost him his life. He is gone... because I failed him. He offered to help out of his own kindness. And when that crucial moment came... I was unable to do that which was required of me."

"You're shittin' me. D-dead? You playing a sick joke on me for a pity fuck? Back off or I'll knock you flat..."

"I wish it were... but sadly it isn't."

Audrey fell into silence. Her hands squeezed tight around the fabric of her robe. Tighter and tighter. Hollow and devoid of shine, her ruby eyes quivered. She got to her feet, sparing nary a hint of consideration. Quietly she left Markus on his own, shutting herself inside the bathroom. The click of the lock behind her ripped through the shroud of sickening silence.

Whimpers echoed from behind the door, faint at first.

Those whimpers turned to sobs.

Markus rose from his regret, crushing it into the depths of oblivion. He released his clenched fist, looking with thought into the palm of his scarred hand.

"Failure a second time is out of the question."

* * *

A low groan. Mike stirred, woken from the best sleep he'd had in days. He traced the faint flickers of light through the blackness of the lounge. His phone? Who was sending a message this late at night?! Shaking off his groggy haze, he looked around for signs of his roommate.

"Celeste?"

No sign of her, at least in the lounge. She'd fallen asleep against his chest a few hours back. A quick nap after a long day of trying to figure out human words thanks to her glitchy communicator. That was what Mike had managed to pick up from the series of hand gestures he'd been given, at least. Alien speech took some getting used to.

"Huh. Maybe she's sent a message to my cell through some of the fancy space tech she uses."

First things first? A wakeup slap. Reading in the dark after a lengthy rest was a pain.

Mike reached for the television remote, thankful he'd remembered where it was if nothing else, and gave it a quick whack. The screen flickered on, giving a low light. The local news? Yep. There was no mistaking Glenberry News' top reporter, Christine Carmine. That flashy red blazer and striking black hair. She was the first one on the scene of any breaking news story.

Looked like she was stood outside the front of a store tonight, smashed windows and a kicked in door.

" _-reporting from the Downtown district. At around 3am alarms flared to life, waking nearby families as someone broke into the local gun store. G.P.D are still looking into things, but so far we have solid report that several sidearms and a pump-action shotgun have been stolen. Gang activity is suspected. This is the second break in since this morning, after a small clothing store on the edge of town was also hit. Only a small handful of items were taken, including a pair of cargo paints, a black vest and red summer dress. So far these incidents seem unconnected. More news to follow_."

Mike shrugged, hitting the mute button on the remote. A re-run of the early news. With so much crazy shit happening lately a few idiots hitting local stores was the last of his concerns. Rolling his eyes, he brought his Huniebee from his pocket. _Hold on a sec_!

His eyes widened.

 _One message from Audre_ y.

A wave of relief like nothing before it washed over. Mike breathed a sigh.

"You're safe? But... they didn't report it on the news... Who am I kidding? Thank God you're alright, Audrey."

He swiped his finger across to pull open the message.

_'Sup, pretty boy? Not come out and told anyone yet, but I skipped town for a while. Just got back tonight. Get down to Lusties before they close and buy me a drink already! Don't usually give guys that break shit off with me a second chance... consider yourself lucky. I'll be waiting 'round back... Tonight's gonna get craaazy!'_

Mike set his phone aside checked his watch.

"Ten. Still got plenty of time if I leave now."

With Celeste out for the night, what point was there sitting around here? Audrey had been gone for weeks now. Mike had been worried sick! He had to get down there and check everything was okay, especially since she'd taken the time to contact him first, before anyone else!

He grabbed for his wallet from the coffee table.

 _Wallet? Check! H_ ouse keys? Check!

"Hold on," Mike smiled hopefully. "Be there before you know it."

**To be continued...**


End file.
